The Rise and Fall of Wizdom.ai: What Happened to the AI-Powered Research Platform?

Ever heard of Wizdom.ai? If you're a researcher or academic, you may remember this AI-powered research management platform that promised to revolutionize the way scholars sourced, analyzed, and managed intelligence on global research materials. Yet, despite operating in a highly relevant space, Wizdom.ai quietly disappeared.

What led to its shutdown? Why did a promising AI-backed startup, boosted by an acquisition from a major corporation, fail to make a lasting impact? Let's explore.

What Was Wizdom.ai?

Wizdom.ai was an AI-driven research platform designed to help academics and researchers manage citations, analyze global research trends, and access intelligence on publications, grants, patents, and clinical trials.

Key Facts About Wizdom.ai

• Founded by: Tahir Mansoori and Rifaqat Ali Shah
• Incubated at: The University of Oxford’s software incubator
• Original Name: Colwiz (Collaborative Wizdom)
• Acquired by: Informa, a large FTSE 100 company focused on academic and business intelligence
• Core Features: AI-powered analytics, citation and reference management, collaboration tools for researchers

Wizdom.ai aimed to compete with leading research management platforms like Mendeley, EndNote, and Zotero, offering AI-driven insights that theoretically gave users an edge in literature reviews and scientific discovery.

However, after being acquired by Informa, the platform saw little new development and was eventually discontinued, with its website no longer active by 2025.

Why Did Wizdom.ai Fail?

Short Answer:

Wizdom.ai was phased out post-acquisition, likely because Informa prioritized other products, and the platform struggled to gain enough traction against well-established competitors like Mendeley and EndNote.

Long Answer:

The failure—or rather, quiet discontinuation—of Wizdom.ai can be attributed to several interrelated factors:

1. Strategic Discontinuation After Acquisition

• When Informa acquired Wizdom.ai, they may have absorbed its technology into existing services (like Taylor & Francis), making the standalone platform redundant.
• Big corporations often buy smaller players for their tech, talent, or data, but not necessarily to maintain the product as it is.

1. Tough Market Competition

• The research and citation management space is highly competitive and dominated by major players.
• Mendeley (owned by Elsevier), EndNote (by Clarivate), and Zotero (open-source) already commanded significant market share.
• Researchers were less inclined to switch to Wizdom.ai when existing tools worked well and were deeply integrated into publishing workflows.

1. Limited User Adoption & Mixed Reviews

• Scholar review sites, like G2, show few user testimonials, with the latest ones dated 2019, indicating low traction.
• Some reviews cited limitations in annotation and citation management, which are critical features for research professionals.
• Without a strong user base, maintaining and scaling the platform may not have been financially viable.

1. Monetization & Business Model Challenges

• Many reference management tools struggle with monetization, forcing them either to rely on institutional sales (like EndNote) or integrate with publisher ecosystems (Mendeley with Elsevier).
• Wizdom.ai’s business model was unclear post-acquisition, making it difficult to sustain funding.

1. Lack of Post-Acquisition Updates

• The Wizdom.ai LinkedIn page remained inactive post-2019, with no clear roadmap from Informa after its acquisition.
• The website became inaccessible, and the Android app was last updated in 2020, signaling abandonment rather than active development.

1. Missed Opportunity for Integration with Informa’s Ecosystem?

• Informa owns renowned research assets like Taylor & Francis and business intelligence units.
• While Wizdom.ai could have been ingrained into these services, there’s no public information confirming such a move.
• If integrated, it happened behind the scenes, meaning the brand and platform were deliberately ended.

How Did Competitors Like Mendeley and EndNote Survive?

Unlike Wizdom.ai, which lacked post-acquisition support, Mendeley and EndNote remain active and widely used because:

• Mendeley is part of Elsevier, a publishing giant, ensuring deep integration with academic publishing.
• EndNote has extensive adoption in universities and enterprise customers.
• Zotero, as an open-source tool, benefits from a dedicated community that sustains its development.

By comparison, Wizdom.ai lacked such institutional backing, an open-source community, or a solid post-acquisition strategy.

Final Thoughts: Lessons from Wizdom.ai’s Demise

The quiet disappearance of Wizdom.ai highlights several key lessons:

1. Being acquired isn’t always a success story – Without a strong strategic plan post-acquisition, products can be easily discontinued.
2. Market positioning matters – Competing against entrenched players like Mendeley and EndNote requires more differentiation than AI analytics alone.
3. Adoption is critical – Without enough traction from researchers and institutions, even well-funded platforms can fade into obscurity.

While Wizdom.ai had promising technology, it couldn't carve out a solid niche against better-positioned competitors. Its story serves as a cautionary tale about the challenges of scaling AI-powered research tools in an industry dominated by publishing powerhouses.

FAQ: Wizdom.ai’s Shutdown

Who founded Wizdom.ai?

Wizdom.ai was founded by Tahir Mansoori and Rifaqat Ali Shah and emerged from the University of Oxford’s software incubator.

When did Wizdom.ai launch?

The platform originally launched as Colwiz before rebranding as Wizdom.ai after implementing AI-driven research analytics.

When did Wizdom.ai shut down?

Though no official shutdown announcement was made, the platform became inaccessible by early 2025, and user activity ceased around 2019–2020.

How much funding did Wizdom.ai raise?

Details on direct funding are scarce, but its acquisition by Informa, a FTSE 100 company, suggests substantial financial backing.

Why did Wizdom.ai fail?

Wizdom.ai likely didn’t gain enough adoption to justify continued investment and was phased out after its acquisition by Informa, which might have absorbed parts of its technology into other research intelligence services.

The Bottom Line: Even innovative AI-backed startups can fail when faced with tough competition, unclear monetization, and lack of post-acquisition strategy. Wizdom.ai's quiet exit underscores the challenges research management platforms face in a crowded, publisher-controlled landscape.